16-Year-Old Figure Skater Back On The Ice Thanks To Boston Children's Hospital Post-COVID Clinic
BOSTON (CBS) -- A figure skating champion is back on the ice after a long battle with COVID-19. On Tuesday, 16-year-old Drew Kenney was practicing at the same rink where she learned how to ice skate at the age of three.
"I've been skating for like a long time. It's just really freeing when you skate. You just get really energized," said Kenney.
That started to change for the competitive skater in March 2020 after getting COVID.
"I was tired and I had headaches and my stomach hurt and I had a bad appetite," said Kenney.
And her symptoms persisted for months- even worsening that summer.
"It was devastating to see her trying to skate and she couldn't. She couldn't do any jumps. She couldn't even maintain her programs. She was falling on the ice," said Drew's mother Diane.
After a number of inconclusive trips to various doctors, she was eventually sent to Boston Children Hospital's post-COVID clinic in March 2021.
"She had all sorts of symptoms and they're symptoms that we see very typically in our long COVID patients," said Dr. Molly Wilson-Murphy, a neurologist at Boston Children's Hospital.
Drew was diagnosed with long COVID, and the Abington High School student finally got the answers she was looking for.
"Within a couple of weeks we had answers and she was put on inhalers for her lungs. They did pulmonary testing and stuff and found out exactly what was going on with her," said Diane.
"To find out there was an actual medical reason behind it was very relieving. It feels really good to get back into what I love," said Drew.
Drew is now back on the ice five days a week. As she continues her training, she's also applying to colleges, where she's looking to study neuroscience, thanks in part to her experience at Boston Children's.
"I want to go to be a doctor of some kind and then I met Dr. Murphy and the whole team was so helpful with everything I was like I want to help kids that are like me," said Drew.